Robbing and bartering (RB) is a behavioral practice anecdotally reported in free-ranging commensal macaques. It usually occurs in two steps: after taking inedible objects (e.g., glasses) from humans, the ... [more ▼]

Robbing and bartering (RB) is a behavioral practice anecdotally reported in free-ranging commensal macaques. It usually occurs in two steps: after taking inedible objects (e.g., glasses) from humans, the macaques appear to use them as tokens, returning them to humans in exchange for food. While extensively studied in captivity, our research is the first to investigate the object/food exchange between humans and primates in a natural setting. During a 4-month study in 2010, we used both focal and event sampling to record 201 RB events in a population of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), including four neighboring groups ranging freely around Uluwatu Temple, Bali (Indonesia). In each group, we documented the RB frequency, prevalence and outcome, and tested the underpinning anthropogenic and demographic determinants. In line with the environmental opportunity hypothesis, we found a positive qualitative relation at the group level between time spent in tourist zones and RB frequency or prevalence. For two of the four groups, RB events were significantly more frequent when humans were more present in the environment. We also found qualitative partial support for the male-biased sex ratio hypothesis [i.e., RB was more frequent and prevalent in groups with higher ratios of (sub)adult males], whereas the group density hypothesis was not supported. This preliminary study showed that RB is a spontaneous, customary (in some groups), and enduring population-specific practice characterized by intergroup variation in Balinese macaques. As such, RB is a candidate for a new behavioral tradition in this species. [less ▲]

Forested landscapes are increasingly affected by human activities, but little is known about the role of large endangered frugivores as seed dispersers in such ecosystems. We investigated the role played ... [more ▼]

Forested landscapes are increasingly affected by human activities, but little is known about the role of large endangered frugivores as seed dispersers in such ecosystems. We investigated the role played by the bonobo (Pan paniscus) in a human-altered forest-savannamosaic in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The studied groups are part of a community-based conservation programme but live at the interface with human activities. We identified dispersed species via faecal analysis, classified them into a regeneration guild and a seed size category, determined the effect of gut transit on seed germination, and the habitat use of bonobos. Bonobos dispersed intact seeds of 77 species, 80.8% of which were large-seeded (≥10mmlong), ofwhich fewcan be dispersed by sympatric frugivores. They dispersed a majority (49%) of shade-bearers that thrive in forest understory with limited amount of light, all of whichwere large-seeded. Transit had an overall positive effect on seed germination. Bonobos used various habitat types, showing preferences for understorywith intermediate light availability and dominated by woody or herbaceous vegetation. This dispersal pattern probably enhances recruitment of shadebearers, and we thus hypothesized that those species benefited from directed dispersal by bonobos. This threatened frugivore provides unique dispersal services and likely plays a paramount functional role in the regeneration of late successional forests in this mosaic landscape. Management plans should pay particular attention to the role of large and rare frugivores in human-dominated regions as their disappearance could disrupt forest succession to a climax state. [less ▲]

In Norway, recovering populations of large carnivores commonly prey on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Understanding predator habitat use and ecology requires fine-scaled information on prey distribution and abundance. However, the massive spatial scales at which large carnivores use the landscape presents many practical and statistical challenges for developing functional prey distribution models. Pellet-count data from >1000 km of transects gathered across southeastern Norway from 2005 to 2011 were used to derive a map of relative prey abundance for roe deer. These data were modeled using zero-inflated hurdle models using both environmental and anthropogenic variables. Snow depth and agricultural fields were the most significant variables in explaining both presence and abundance. Internal k-cross validation of the model showed medium accuracy (Spearman r = 0.35), whereas external evaluation carried out on the basis of independently collected snow-tracking data (Spearman r = 0.37) and hunting statistics (Spearman r = 0.88) showed high accuracy. The map generated can facilitate both the study of broad scale processes linking predators and prey as well as roe deer management in southeastern Norway. [less ▲]

The degree of seed scarification in the frugivore gut, partly dependent on gut retention time, is a key component in determining the extent to which gut passage alters germination performances. Another ... [more ▼]

The degree of seed scarification in the frugivore gut, partly dependent on gut retention time, is a key component in determining the extent to which gut passage alters germination performances. Another potential benefit of gut passage arises as a result of the removal of fruit pulp which otherwise may act as a germination inhibitor. Using experiments designed to disentangle the respective effects of pulp removal (germination deinhibition) and seed scarification, and gut retention time as an explanatory variable, we investigated the effect of gut passage on germination performances (percentage and latency) of five tropical tree species dispersed by the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla). The percentage of seeds germinating after gut passage increased for three species, respectively, through the effects of scarification only, deinhibition only, and scarification and deinhibition combined. A negative scarification effect was observed for one species, and no effect of gut passage for another. Passage through the gut led to a decrease in germination latency of three species, as a result of the depulping of seeds. However, seed scarification resulted in germination delays for another species. The gut retention time of the five species averaged 39e56 h and had no effect on intra-specific germination performances except for one species whose germination probability increased as gut retention time increased. As gut retention time often correlates with dispersal distance, the fact that gut retention time per se does not reduce seed viability of these tropical tree species may have positive implications for their population dynamics and maintenance of genetic diversity. If no detrimental effect of gut retention time on germination performance is a general trait among tropical species, the extirpation of large frugivores with long gut retention time, such as the western lowland gorilla, would likely have negative long-term implications for tropical forests. [less ▲]

Macaque tourism, i.e. a tourist activity focusing on wild macaques as main attraction, is an example of the bourgeoning and diversified human-macaque interactions in Southeast Asia. Although both people ... [more ▼]

Macaque tourism, i.e. a tourist activity focusing on wild macaques as main attraction, is an example of the bourgeoning and diversified human-macaque interactions in Southeast Asia. Although both people and macaques can benefit from their interactions at tourist sites, this activity also raises several conservation and management issues which are essential to understand in order to promote a sustainable coexistence. Using an ethnoprimatological approach, we provide here an assessment of the effect of a long-term management regime at the very popular tourist Ubud Monkey Forest in Bali, Indonesia. Over a four-month period in 2013, we characterized the visitor-macaque interactions with ethological methods and we compared our data with those collected 12 years earlier by Fuentes and colleagues. In parallel, we conducted a questionnaire survey, interviewing 99 Balinese people to assess their attitudes towards macaques and the Monkey Forest. Our results confirmed that the management efforts to reduce the aggressiveness of macaques towards visitors have been effective. Indeed, we observed a considerable reduction of the frequency and intensity of agonistic interspecies interactions. However, the interactions between macaques and visitors frequently involved close physical contact, such as during provisioning. Men on the human side, and adult or subadult males on the macaque side, were the groups the most frequently involved in these types of interaction. A reinforcement of the management practices limiting close interspecies contact interactions by targeting the most exposed groups, is therefore necessary in order to reduce the risk of pathogen cross-species transmission. Our questionnaire survey revealed globally a high level of tolerance of local people towards macaques in Ubud. These positive attitudes were determined by the economic and cultural benefits derived from the macaque presence and tourism activity, as far as they compensate for the nuisances caused by macaques. Crop raiding in cultivated fields surrounding the Monkey Forest was still a source of tension which would require further management efforts including the development of open buffer zones. [less ▲]

The sympatric relationship between humans and other primates in interface zones is a contemporary widespread phenomenon. The expanding landscapes anthropization leads to an intensification of human-other ... [more ▼]

The sympatric relationship between humans and other primates in interface zones is a contemporary widespread phenomenon. The expanding landscapes anthropization leads to an intensification of human-other primate interactions ranging from conflict to co-operation scenarios. Our study investigated the commensal relationships between long-tailed macaques and humans at the tourist Padangtegal Monkey Forest. We present here results related to human-macaque interactions and local people’s perceptions and attitudes towards the latter. We used ethological methods to quantify the nature of the interactions and we conducted a questionnaire survey to identify the macaques’ status in local public opinion. 99 respondents (62 males and 37 females) were selected in a radius of 2km around the Monkey Forest. Perceptions and attitudes were explicitly measured on self-reports and were attributed to a 4 point score. Macaques interacted with humans for 1.1% of their activity budget and these interactions were mostly aggressive (0.6%), food-related (0.4%) or neutral (0.1%). 80% of the aggressive interactions were initiated by humans but the majority aimed at protecting crops and properties from macaques’ incursions. Overall, most of the respondents had positive perceptions and attitudes towards macaques, except neighbouring landowner farmers who suffered from crop damage. Despite nuisances caused by macaques, the majority of the interviewees reported to derive compensatory economic and cultural benefits from their relationships with macaques. The religious and economic contexts might explain the high tolerance level towards macaques that represents a source of hope for a sustainable coexistence, although some management strategies minimizing crop damage still need to be reinforced. [less ▲]

The quest for coexistence between humans and primates requires an extensive analysis of the impacts of the growing commensalism phenomenon. In South-east Asia, the long-tailed macaque adapts successfully ... [more ▼]

The quest for coexistence between humans and primates requires an extensive analysis of the impacts of the growing commensalism phenomenon. In South-east Asia, the long-tailed macaque adapts successfully to anthropogenic habitats. The low predation pressure in zones of human-macaque interface and the inclusion of human food in macaques’ diet can lead to local overpopulation. On the other hand, the risk of epidemic disease simultaneously increases with high primate density and proximity with human vectors. Data presented here represent 25 years-population dynamics of a commensal-living population of macaques in Ubud Monkey Forest (Indonesia). Over this period, the population experienced a dramatic growth with an average 11% annual increase rate. In June 2012, we counted 615 individuals divided in 5 groups with a very high density of 61 macaques per hectare. However, two Streptococcus outbreaks have also been reported over the same period, temporarily limiting the steep positive demographic trend of this population. The first epidemic episode appeared in 1994 and the second in July 2012, the last one resulting in 14% mortality in 3 out of 5 groups of the population (563 macaques in October 2012). The comparison between the pre- and post-outbreak periods in 2011-2012 shows changes in macaques’ ranging and behaviour. After the outbreak, the affected groups used smaller and more peripheral home ranges, while the non-affected groups centred their home ranges on the human provisioning places. Besides anthropic factors promoting population growth, epidemic diseases play a significant role in shaping the dynamics and behaviour of this synanthropic population and could have important implications in the future both in terms of management and local conservation status. [less ▲]

Sportive lemurs of the genus Lepilemur are small, nocturnal folivorous lemurs that are exclusively arboreal and generally have small distribution ranges. Owing to these characteristics, they are ... [more ▼]

Sportive lemurs of the genus Lepilemur are small, nocturnal folivorous lemurs that are exclusively arboreal and generally have small distribution ranges. Owing to these characteristics, they are particularly negatively affected by deforestation and habitat fragmentation, which is reflected by the recent uplisting of many of the 26 Lepilemur species into one of the threatened categories of the IUCN Red List. The main aim of this study is to understand the evolutionary mechanisms underlying species richness and speciation processes of the genus Lepilemur in northwestern Madagascar, and to test the predictions of the Inter-River-System biogeographic model of lemur distribution patterns proposed by Olivieri et al. (2007). This study focuses particularly on three Lepilemur taxa: L. sahamalazensis, L. dorsalis and L. mittermeieri, which have their distribution ranges in the northwestern regions of Sofia and Diana. The objectives are to determine their exact distributions, currently unknown; to assess the allopatry or parapatry for L. dorsalis and L. mittermeieri; and to explain the barrier between these two taxa if it exists. A second fundamental aspect of the project consists in the development of noninvasive tools, based on species-specificity of bio-acoustic structures, which will allow species identification in the field. This paper discusses the results from a two-month preliminary field season, conducted from 1st April to 31st May 2013 in order to explore the mainland forests located between the Andranomalaza (Maetsamalaza) and Maevarano rivers. We established the presence/absence of Lepilemur in different forest fragments of this poorly-known area and collected information about land use classes and land use change using remote sensing techniques. [less ▲]

The sympatric relationship between humans and primates is a contemporary widespread phenomenon. Several primate species are capable for exploiting human-modified habitats in association with people, but ... [more ▼]

The sympatric relationship between humans and primates is a contemporary widespread phenomenon. Several primate species are capable for exploiting human-modified habitats in association with people, but the most successful species in South-east Asia is probably the long-tailed macaque (M. fascicularis). The low predation pressures in zones of interface and the inclusion of human food in macaques’ diet can lead to local overpopulations. On the other hand, the risk of epidemic disease is simultaneously increased by the high primate density and the proximity with human vectors. Data presented here represent 25 years-population dynamics of a long term commensal-living population of macaques in Ubud Monkey Forest (Indonesia). This population experienced a dramatic growth with an 11% annual increase rate. In June 2012, we counted 615 individuals divided in 5 groups with a very high density of 61 macaques per hectare. However, two Streptococcus outbreaks have also been reported over the same 25 years period, temporarily limiting the steep positive demographic trend of this population. The last epidemic event in July 2012 resulted in a 14% mortality affecting 3 out of 5 groups of the population. Besides the anthropic factors promoting population growth, epidemic diseases play a significant role in shaping the dynamics of this synanthropic population and could have important implications in the future both in terms of local management and local conservation status. [less ▲]

The long-term survival of the Endangered bonobo (IUCN, 2012) will depend on well thought out conservation programmes that need to be built both upon the species’ ecological requirements and local socio ... [more ▼]

The long-term survival of the Endangered bonobo (IUCN, 2012) will depend on well thought out conservation programmes that need to be built both upon the species’ ecological requirements and local socio-economics realities. Yet there is still a lot to find out, including information on the species geographical distribution. In 2005, the presence of a western population was confirmed in the forest-savannah mosaic in the south-western part of the Lake Tumba Landscape. With the exception of an early study carried out in Lukuru, the species is mainly known from lowland rainforest research sites in the Cuvette Centrale. The western forest-savannah mosaic is an ecotone with a marked seasonal pattern, a high variability of habitats and monthly variations in fruit production. All this leads to spatio-temporal variation of food availability. In order to increase studies and monitoring of this unique population, WWF initiated a habituation process of two groups of bonobos 6 years ago. The groups are now semi-habituated, making the collection of direct daily observations possible. Our objective is to describe the behavioural strategies developed by this population in order to cope with spatio-temporal variations of food availability. This will be approached by identifying daily activity, ranging and grouping patterns, in order to understand how they affect social structure. It should also allow us to define the use of savannahs. Our findings will help determine specific conservations measures for this endangered species. [less ▲]

The influence of spatial scale on ecological processes and pattern formation, such as species distribution is a major research topic since decades. It has become even more relevant in the context of ... [more ▼]

The influence of spatial scale on ecological processes and pattern formation, such as species distribution is a major research topic since decades. It has become even more relevant in the context of global change. In many studies the influence of a predictor on a response derived over multiple and discrete spatial scales is evaluated. Due to inherent issue of multiple testing, this approach can be problematic. In this study on bonobos distribution, we suggest a 3-steps procedure that overcomes this problem. It takes into account the decay of a predictor by using a weighting function of distance to the observation of interest. We use variables to account for human pressure, food availability, patchy structure of the forest and nesting sites re-use. In a first step, we run a model with a fixed scale for every predictor based on expert opinion. For significant variables, we derive then in a second step the distance weighted influence over a range of scales. This helps to narrow down the search for the final model parameter estimates. Findings indicate that bonobo distribution is driven on the intermediate scale by forest patches structure. Food availability explains their abundance only at smaller scales. Those results demonstrate the sadly well-known influence of habitat fragmentation on animals’ density and distribution but also highlight the importance to understand influences of scale, the animal perceptions of their environment, by using appropriate statistical procedures. Our method can be particularly useful to formulate specific management hypotheses for conservation. Furthermore, its principles can be of use to other types of studies, such as behavior. [less ▲]